Ho-Hum, It’s Another Road Win for Clippers

Onward go the Clippers, as if they are supposed to be beating these teams.

Such a crazy notion. But such a crazy trip. Would you believe Clippers 115, Atlanta 109?

It happened Wednesday night before 11,817 at the Omni, earning the Hawks a spot alongside Minnesota, Boston and Charlotte as victims of a to-be-completed eight-game tour in which the Clippers have surpassed all immediate expectations. Even their coach’s.

“I won’t say it’s unbelievable,” Don Casey said. “I just didn’t think it would happen to this extent. But they (the players) are on a mission.”

It became a success long before Wednesday, even if not by record. The Clippers beat Minnesota, lost to defending NBA champion Detroit by four points, won at Boston Garden for the first time since 1979, lost to New York by a point in overtime when Ron Harper’s virtual layup got an unforgiving bounce off the front of the rim, and then beat Charlotte.

A victory over the Hawks, the Clippers’ first in 10 tries, would seem like a nice encore if it didn’t come off looking so much like the start of something.

“I didn’t have a timetable for this team coming together,” Casey said. “But it looks good right now.”

When the Clippers (14-18) travel to Milwaukee today, it will be by plane. It’s just a little quicker than walking on air.

Consider what it meant to beat the Hawks in Atlanta for the first time since Dec. 30, 1981:

--The Clippers won back-to-back road games for the first time since Nov. 20 and 24, 1987.

--By opening 4-2 on this trip, they have equaled last season’s total number of road wins and are guaranteed no worse than a .500 record on their longest trip of the season.

The latter was the players’ most prominent goal, and at the outset it seemed strictly like dream material. This was the same team, after all, that began the season 0-10 away from the Sports Arena.

“We just know that every time we get ready to play now, whether it’s at home or on the road, that we can win,” said guard Gary Grant, who had 16 points and 11 assists.

Part of this victory, Casey insists, does stretch back to the Sports Arena. Specifically, to the desk of General Manager Elgin Baylor, who engineered the trade for Harper nearly two months ago.

“This win I’ll give credit to Elgin for getting Harper,” Casey said. “That s.o.b. doesn’t let you lose.”

He meant Harper, who scored 25 of his game-high 37 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Nine of those came in the final 3:42, the first basket breaking a 102-102 tie.

The lead reached 108-102 before the Hawks (18-14) responded to pull within 108-107. Then Harper made two free throws with 33 seconds remaining and knocked the ball away from Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins to start a fast break he culminated with a slam dunk. The Clippers were ahead, 112-107, making one last fast-break stuff and subsequent free throw important only for the highlight reel.

“We’re not on any timetable,” said Harper, who also had nine assists. “If we’re a team, we’re going to play good. We don’t want to wait for the second half of the season to play good.”

They’re not, and neither is Danny Manning. After scoring 16 points at New York and 22 at Charlotte, the Clipper forward hit 11 of 16 shots for a season-high 27 points. He also had nine assists.

“I think Danny is starting to feel comfortable playing the game again,” Harper said. “He was a little down the last two or three weeks, but he is coming back, doing the things that it takes to win games.”

Clipper Notes

Don King, best known as a boxing promoter, has been cleared by the National Basketball Players Assn. to become an NBA agent and will represent Clipper center Benoit Benjamin in future negotiations. King had been a member of the self-named Team Benjamin since last summer. Now, he has a title and a more prominent role, while Henry Holmes, the previous agent, will handle Benjamin’s personal matters. “It makes me feel good,” Benjamin said. “I know he and Mike (Tyson) are always supportive of everything I do and will continue to help me and my career. Now it’s official. He (King) can go to work and do what he does best.” King was notified of his approval late last week, according to Charles Grantham, executive director of the NBPA, which certifies all player representatives. The process normally takes three to five weeks, Grantham said, but King’s background check was “exhaustive” because of past and current legal entanglements.

Moses Malone led Atlanta with 27 points and 11 rebounds. . . . The Clippers’ 14th victory last season came March 22. . . . After first hearing that Ken Norman would probably rejoin the team for Friday’s game at Milwaukee, coaches were told Wednesday their injured starting forward will not make it back for either of the final two games on the trip. Norman is nursing a strained groin.